WNBA Notebook: Abrosimova to make Sun debut today

Sunday

Svetlana Abrosimova never wanted to play in the WNBA this season. Not even if she had an offer.

Svetlana Abrosimova never wanted to play in the WNBA this season. Not even if she had an offer.

“I felt like one team was enough,” the former Minnesota Lynx forward said. “I played there for seven years. I felt like it was a good career and I wanted to keep continuing to play in Europe.”

The Connecticut Sun changed all that.

Abrosimova, who finalized a deal to join the first-place Sun Wednesday, will make her debut today when the Sun host the Seattle Storm at Mohegan Sun Arena (1 p.m., Chs. 5, 6, 8).

The former UConn Husky had been in talks with Connecticut coach Mike Thibault since April and was even asked to join the team a month before the Olympics to train.

But Abrosimova said she still needed time to think. She traveled to Beijing, helped the Russian national team take bronze, and after continuing talks with Thibault, an assistant for the U.S. team, she simply asked herself, “Why not?”

“I had some time off from basketball, so I decided to do it,” she said Saturday at Connecticut College. “It’s a good team in Connecticut, which is my second home in the States. That was my reason for coming back.”

There were more, of course.

“I felt that Connecticut had a really good chance to be in the finals,” Abrosimova said. “I didn’t just want to go to a team that was trying to make the playoffs because I tried for seven years and we just couldn’t make it. I felt like this was the year.”

Abrosimova actually made the playoffs twice with the Lynx, in 2003 and 2004, but was bounced in the first round both times.

Her new team, however, had a berth sewn up even before her first practice.

“When you go to a team, you meet the team and you know seven players out of 12, it’s not bad at all,” said Abrosimova, who played with Tamika Raymond and Asjha Jones at UConn and Sandrine Gruda in Russia. “When you’re in a situation where you missed two months of the year, I needed it.

“And I like their style, I like how they play and they’re winning. They want to win. They don’t necessarily care about their stats. They’re just worried about winning here.”

Abrosimova said she still hasn’t decided if she’ll play in the WNBA past this year, but for now, the Sun are hoping to get her assimilated through the final six regular-season games so she can contribute come playoff time. Raymond and Jones both have called her a quick study.

“She was already asking about certain plays, so she obviously watched the (DVD of our plays) a couple times that I gave to her,” Thibault said.

A Fowles mood
At 10-17 and two and a half games out of the East’s final playoff spot, the Chicago Sky have a long road to earning their first playoff berth. But they may have the conference’s biggest difference-maker coming down the stretch.

The return of rookie center Sylvia Fowles has immediately jump-started Chicago, which earned wins over New York and Washington in returning from the Olympic break, and visits the second place Detroit Shock today.

Fowles, the second overall pick in April’s WNBA draft, missed 17 games between June and July with a sprained knee, a span in which Chicago went 6-11 and lost four or more consecutive games on two occasions.

But after a terrific showing on the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team — averaging team-highs in points (13.4) and rebounds (8.4) — Fowles has come alive, posting back-to-back double-doubles, including a career-best 20-point, 13-rebound showing Friday.

“I wanted to play before Beijing, but this was a breakout moment for me and made me comfortable to get out there and play,” Fowles said earlier this week on a conference call. “Just the overall experience with working with the veterans and Lisa was great. It helped make the game situations a lot easier.”

Even if the Sky can’t catch the fourth-place but struggling Indiana Fever (13-15), the 6-foot-6 center will be leading a great spoiler.

“Once she got her confidence back and she knew she wasn’t going to do any damage (to her knee), you could see her getting better every day,” Thibault said. “I thought she was a huge factor in how we played because of her strength and size. ... I’m glad that Chicago is far enough back in the race from us, and we only play her one more time this season.”

Around the rim
Seattle coach Brian Agler said he’s still hopes to sign another frontcourt player to offset the loss of reigning league MVP Lauren Jackson, who is expected to miss four to six weeks after undergoing ankle surgery Thursday.

“We are exploring that,” he said. “But I really like the chemistry of our team. I really don’t want to do a whole lot to disrupt that. But now, we still want to win games and we’re still looking for the right piece, but if we don’t find it, we’re not going to force anything.” …

Seattle forward and former UConn star Swin Cash will enjoy seeing some old friends today in Connecticut; the Sun boast five former Huskies, including her former Husky teammates Jones, Raymond and Abrosimova. But she understands the Sun haven’t stockpiled them just to boost support among the Connecticut fan base.

“If you want to win championships, you build your team around people who know how to win championships and have won championships,” she said. “And obviously every girl they have from UConn has the ability to play this game.

“I love Coach Thibault, he’s a great coach,” Cash added. “I got an opportunity (to play under him) during USA trials and stuff, and he wants to win a championship. He’s doing whatever’s best for his team, and he’s done a great job this year.”

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